HISTORY OF NEPAL | Page 8

of the valley kingdoms and invaded them at the right time.

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CONQUEST OF KIRTIPUR

Prithvi Narayan Shah had already occupied Dhulikhel, Banepa, Panauti, Panga, Farping and Chobhar, by 1764 A.D. On 16th September 1764 A.D. he attacked Kirtipur for the second time. But he was defeated again by the Kirtipuris. Sur Pratap Shah, the youngest brother of Prithvi Narayan Shah, lost his eyes in this battle.

However, Prithvi Narayan Shah did not give up his hope to conquer the valley kingdoms. For the third time, Prithvi Narayan Shah sent his Army under the command of Bansa Raj Pande who made a sudden attack on Kirtipur in December 1767. This time, the Gorkha ttroops got victory over Kirtipur. Prithvi Narayan Shah became so furious from his former defeats in the bands of Kirtipuris that he ordered that the noses of the people of Kirtipur over the age of 12 be cut off and the city to be named as `Naskatipur'.

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CONQUEST OF KATHMANDU VALLEY

On 26th of September, 1768, when the people of Kathmandu, alongwith King Jaya Prakash Malla, were celebrating the Indra Jatra festival, Prithvi Narayan Shah made a sudden attack. The 1,000 Gorkha soldiers under the command of their king attacked Kathmandu from three sides-Bhimsenthan, Naradevi and Tundikhel. The troops of Jaya Prakash Malla fought for sometime, then they surrendered. Jaya Prakash Malla hid in the Taleju temple and fled to Patan for shelter. Prithvi Narayan Shah declared himself to be the king of Kathmandu and sat on the throne set up in the palace square (Basantapur Durbar square) for the festival.

After some days Patan was also attacked by the Gorkhas. The six Pradhans were ready to surrender before Prithvi Narayan Shah without any bloodshed. Tej Narasimha Malla, the king of Patan became afraid of the Pradhans as well as of Prithvi Narayan Shah. So, he went to Bhaktapur alongwith Jaya Prakash Malla. On 6th Oct. 1768 A.D. Prithvi Narayan Shah annexed Patan to his kingdom. After a year, on 12th November 1769 A.D. Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered Bhaktapur and occupied it. In this way, Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the valley kingdoms one by one and several other kingdoms outside the valley, and laid the foundation of a Greater Nepal.

After conquerring the valley, Prithvi Narayan Shah began to prepare for war against Chaubise Rajya. The Gorkhali troops tried to control Kaski, Rishing, Dhor, Bhirkot, Parbat etc., but they were unsuccessful. Then Prithvi Narayan Shah turned his attention towards the eastern states. Prithvi Narayan Shah established his domination over Vijayapur and Chaudandi. He extended the boundry of Nepal up to Kankai in the east, Marsyangdi and Chepe in the west, Rasuwa in the north and Parsa to Jhapa in the south.

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KING PRITHVI NARAYAN SHAH AS A PERSON

King Prithvi Narayan Shah was a high ambitious and great courageous man. He was active, kind, liberal and a just king. At the age of 20, the administration came into his hand. King Prithvi Narayan Shah had to spend most of his time in fighting. He did not find time to show his abilities as an administrator. He conquered several states one by one and unitd them into a mighty Gorkha kingdom. He established a sound administration with a stable economic base and laid the foundation of an independent country. He may be compared with such ideal monarchs as Alfred, the Great of Britain, Akbar of India, Bismark of Germany and Cabour of Italy. Behind his noble effort to conquer the small kingdoms and unify them into a nation, he had good ghoughts and inspirations acquired from practical experiences.

King Prithvi Narayan Shah was a high ambitious and great courageous man. He was active, kind, liberal and a just king. At the age of 20, the administration came into his hand. King Prithvi Narayan Shah had to spend most of his time in fighting. He did not find time to show his abilities as an administrator. He conquered several states one by one and unitd them into a mighty Gorkha kingdom. He established a sound administration with a stable economic base and laid the foundation of an independent country. He may be compared with such ideal monarchs as Alfred, the Great of Britain, Akbar of India, Bismark of Germany and Cabour of Italy. Behind his noble effort to conquer the small kingdoms and unify them into a nation, he had good ghoughts and inspirations acquired from practical experiences.

Prithvi Narayan Shah gave valuable advice to his successors, popularly known as "DIVINE COUNCEL" (Dibya Upadesh). The maxim he laid down for himself and his successors was: "It is with much travail that I have acquired this kingdom. It is a common garden for all castes. Let everyone realize this".

His expulsion of the Christians from the kingdom of Nepal proves his shrewdness as a politician. He was afraid of the